NEW YORK (Reuters)
—
A gala week of designer fashion shows kicked off on Thursday in New
York, where insiders said to expect everything from fringe and
shearling to pared-down monochrome on styles coming down the
runways.

Nicholas K, a brother-and-sister design team based in New
York, was first out of the chute at the official Fashion Week,
staged at Manhattan's Lincoln Center, with oversize anoraks and
folded, draped sweaters in somber hues of midnight blue, gray
heather and indigo, with dashes of burgundy.

Hundreds of designers will be showing their creations for next
fall on runways and showrooms across New York through next
Thursday, when the week is capped off with shows by powerhouses
Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Fashion Week comes around every six months in New York, followed
by weeks of fashion shows in London, Paris and Milan.

New York's Fashion Week draws some 232,000 people to more than
500 shows, according to statistics from the mayor's office. The
fashion industry employs more than 180,000 people in New York
City.

The looks by Nicholas K evoked a post-apocalyptic world with
models clad in asymmetrical black leather jackets, baggy shorts
rolled up over leggings, fur hoods and clunky black rubber
boots.

The looks seemed fitting given the heaps of snow outside, and
more snow is forecast for the weekend.

Ken Downing, fashion director at retailer Neiman
Marcus, said he expects to see designs influenced by an array of
global cultures, evidenced by leather, shearling and fringe as well
as less-embellished single-color dressing.

"We're either going to have something that's very pared down with a
bit of a classic sensibility, or this injection of a very global
idea," Downing said. "There's always more than one message on the
runway."

"This season, we find ourselves lost in an evening reverie,
wandering a moonlit Moorish Palace, the expansive halls embedded
with tales of enchantment," he wrote in a statement accompanying his
show.

Spain's Desigual filled the runway with bright, cheerful
mini-dresses, short skirts and swing coats in vivid, splashy colors
and prints. Dressier looks were heavy on sequins and gold and bronze
lame.

Even Desigual's models were full of smiles, playfully spinning on
the catwalk and blowing kisses, a departure from the stony faces and
unfocused gazes of models in most shows.

The Spanish brand wrote that its collection reflects
love for its hometown of Barcelona and the city's "enduring
optimism."

"With love comes levity, and this winter feels brighter and less
baroque," Desigual wrote of the collection.

Creatures of the Wind designers Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters'
move to New York from Chicago seems to have fine-tuned their edgy
brand, giving the collection an urbane look.

Nevertheless there was plenty of their signature whimsy, blocks of
bright color and springy prints to offset any newfound restraint.
Flashes of color and appliques played off structured pieces, such as
a double-breasted black blazer paired with cropped floral pants and
a black-and-blue cashmere wrap topping a metallic holographic lace
pencil skirt.